Market Background

Nitta Corp. (TYO:5186) has reported a surge in revenue and profit for the first half of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018. Sales rose to 36.48 billion yen ($319.79 million), up 14 percent from the same period last year, and net profit jumped 25.5 percent to 4.88 billion yen. Meanwhile, operating profit was up 15.2 percent at 2.87 billion...

JSR Corp. (TYO:4185) posted sales of 203.54 billion yen ($1.78 billion) in sales for the April–September first fiscal half, up 11.7 percent from the year-earlier period, and operating profit of 23.37 billion yen, up 56.3 percent on the year. Net profit was reported up 53.6 percent on the year to 17.97 billion yen. The report, conforming to International Financial Reporting...

Nitto Kako Co., Ltd. (TYO:5104) recently released its business results for the first half (April–September) of the fiscal year ending March 2018. The company posted sales of 3.87 billion yen ($34.05 million), down 4.9 percent over the same period last year; an operating profit of 158 million yen, down 7.8 percent; an ordinary profit of 155 million yen, down 6.1...

Japanese demand for retreaded tires has slowed in recent years, despite steady growth until 2014 driven by environmental and economic factors. Japan Rubber Weekly recently sat down for an interview with Tatsuo Gomi, chairman of the Japan Retreaders Association (JRA), to ask about several issues facing the industry. The JRA chairman started by saying he wants to properly push the...

Japan Rubber Weekly recently conducted a study of the top 100 companies in Japan’s rubber industry, analyzing their business performance for fiscal 2016. Of these 100 companies, 48 posted a year-on-year revenue increase. Seven companies managed a double-digit increase to revenue, including NOK Elastomers Processing Co. Ltd., which ranked 42nd out of the 100 companies with an 11.9 percent increase,...

A survey conducted this July by Japan Rubber Weekly (JRW) was sent to senior executives from 169 domestic rubber and resin manufacturers, asking about their business outlooks and earnings forecasts. Of those who received the survey, 117 companies responded, making for a 69.2 percent response rate. When asked their thoughts on the future of the rubber industry, 55.8 percent of...